Ancient Imitations of coins of
Julia
Domna(Wife of Septimius Severus, who reigned AD 193-211, and
mother
of Caracalla, who reigned until 217)

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First is
an unusual good-silver imitation, followed by the more-common fourreés and then casts.

19 mm. 5:30. 3.12 grams.
Hybrid of not-quite official style.
The obverse legend exists only under Cacacalla's sole reign (211-217),
but
the reverse belongs to the period 196-211.
IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG
/FORTVNAE FELICI, Felicitas standing left holding
cornucopiae,
resting left on rudder
Sear 1837 var. RIC -- but 552 has this reverse with IVLIA
AVGVSTA, page
167, plate 9.5 "196-211"
BMC (S&C) reverse of 24, plate 27.12 (3.62 grams).
Under microscopic examination the surface shows a very thin layer of
silver
over copper -- but not the appearance of a foil sheet. The surface
seems
different from that of a typical Republican silver-plated denarius.

Next, fourreés, then
casts.
Fourrés are struck from dies engraved by forgers. The
face
is always the hardest thing to draw, and you can see that the engravers
had
a hard time getting the face of Julia Domna right. Compare the next
several
fourrés to the casts that follow. Because casts were of casts
from
official coins, the style of cast imitations is usually perfect and
certainly
much better than most fourrés.

19 mm. 6:00. 3.00 grams.
A stern Julia Domna fourré. Althought the engraving is good, it
does
not duplicate official style.
IVLIA AVGSTA [sic, the second "V" of "AVGVSTA" was not engraved]
/PM TP XVI COS III ..
This is a hybrid. The obverse is common for Julia Domna, but the
reverse
belongs to Septimius Severus, BMC (S&C) 562, plate 42.4, AD 208.
Many fourrés are hybids that use obverse and
reverse
types that were never officially matched.

18 mm. 5:30. 2.88 grams.
Extremely thin silvering on a coinn of excellent style. I wonder if
this
is not a fourré, rather a cast which was then somehow silvered.
The
style is almost too good for a fourré.
IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG
/seated female left (in good style, but too corroded
to
identify the legend)
This obverse legend was used for Julia Domna under Caracalla.

Imitation: Cast, no traces of silvering. 18-16 mm. 6:00. 2.60
grams.
Prototype: AR20. 6:00. 3.45 grams.
Unusually brassy. Most casts are in base gray metal, as are the
following pieces.
IVLIA AVGVSTA
/PIETAS AVGG, Pietas standing left, sacrificing at
altar
References: Prototype is Sear (old) 1846. RIC (SS) 572, plate 9.8
"196-211".
BMC (S&C) 62, "196-211" plate 28.13.
I don't know what the counterfeiters did to make a
cast
piece like this have a silver surface that could be deceptive. It
cannot
properly be called the core of a fourré because it was not
struck
with silver plating.

19 mm. 6:00. 3.03 grams.
Gray metal. Note the weakness which is typical of casts. They rarely
are
bold. They cannot have more depth of relief than the coins they are
cast
from, and they lose details in the process. Constrast this with
fourrés, which are often as bold as the originals.
IVLIA AVGVSTA
/IVNO, Juno standing with peacock at feet.
Prototype: BMC (S) 38-39 page 162, plate 27.19, AD 198-209.
RSC 82. Hill 1029 (AD 209)

19 mm. 12:00. 2.78 grams.
Another dark metal cast. Note the official style, which is typical of
casts.
IVLIA AVGVSTA
/PVDICITIA
Prototype: RIC 576, page 170. BMC 613-616, page 278, "Eastern mint,"
plate
43.4. Also BMC 72-74 at Rome. Plates 28.16 and 28.17 have fewer
hair
ridges. 28.17 is called "base?" for being 2.49 grams.
The same type was issued at Rome, but is "R2" there according to Hill
#701.

17-15 mm. 6:00. 3.07 grams.
A small cast. Casts are usually slightly smaller in diameter than the
originals
used to make the molds. Howeve, thickness is nto easily controlled in
casting
because the two halves of the mold may not fully meet.
IVLIA AVGVSTA
/PVDICITIA
Type as above, but possibly the wetern style.

19 mm. 12:00. 2.60 grams.
Gary metal. The bright copper is on the surface and is not below the
surface.
This is a cast and not a fourré. The reverse shows a very thin
shiny
lighter covering, possibly intended to imitate silver, but no longer
effective.
IVLIA AVGVSTA
/IV - NO, Juno standing, peacock at feet.
Prototype: Sear --. BMC (S&C) 39, page 162, plate 27.19.
RIC 559, page 168, plate IX.6 has a very similar reverse die.